Here are 10 reasons that I learned you don't want to meal plan.
1. You don't like saving money. You can spend almost twice as much at the grocery store if you go without a list of things that you need.
2. You like forgetting things. This one is a no-brainer, but if you shop without a plan and therefore a list, you are always going to end up back up home thinking, " Crud! I totally forgot the (insert essential dinner ingredient here)". - which could lead to another trip to the store and cost you even More money.
3. You enjoy paying 20$ for a gallon of milk. What! you say, no you don't. If you are in the store to pick up that one thing you forgot chances are very high you are going to be caught by an impulse buy. That bag of chips, those cookies on the end, hot bakery bread, Oh! Look! Brownies!! And there you are, 20$ for that gallon of milk.
4. You enjoy that stressed out "end of your rope" feeling - especially around 4:30pm. It is getting late in the day, dinner time is just around the corner, do you have a plan? Do you have ingredients that you shopped for from a list you made? No, because you are a fly-by-the-seat-of-her-pants kinda girl, you like to walk on the wild-side. And besides menu planning is just so much work. Let's see what we can make for dinner. Hmmm, we are missing this, and we don't have enough of that, oh wait, nope, we ate that last week. Boy! This adventure does NOT feel awesome.
5. You don't want to eat or feed your family healthy food. Do you enjoy grabbing fast food through the drive-thru? Having a menu plan let's you pick meals that are in season, that meet special dietary requirements if necessary, or that are just the best of the food that is available to your family. Despite how fun they make it look in commercials commercial fast food is one of the worst things that you can be feeding yourself and your family.
6. You don't want to try new foods. Menu planning is a great way to try new foods and recipes. Plan one night a week (or just a month if you aren't so inclined) to try out something new and different. This is the way that family favorites are made. My kids absolutely love curry, but I would never have guessed this unless we decided to try something new together.
7. You don't want to spend your grocery money wisely. Perhaps you are the 1% of the world that doesn't need to be careful with your grocery budget. If you are, good for you. The other 99% of us have to watch out pennies very carefully. I can't afford to shop without a list and a plan. (and a full stomach!) Menu planning can help your dollars go much further because you are able to buy things that really are a good deal (which you discovered by reading all the grocery ads while planning your menu), things that are local and in season, and things that you really need, instead of the things that you don't.
8. You enjoy wandering aimlessly through the grocery store. The very best food for you (and your budget) is at the outside edges of your local grocery store. The middle is full of processed, high priced and unhealthy foods, but that is where you end up spending a lot of your shopping time if you don't know where you are going.
9. You enjoy saying, "I don't know". C'mon, as a parent we like to know the answers, I think most adults like to know the answers. "What's for dinner?" Do you know?!
10. You really don't like saving time, money or your sanity. I know at first menu planning can seem like a Mount Everest kind of task, but it really isn't. You can make it as simple or complicated as your personality wants it to be. If you are a simple kinda gal, get two pieces of paper and write a menu on one and a shopping list on the other. If you like things complicated then get out your recipe books, your colored pencils and anything else you can thing will make this a pleasant experience for you. And just do it, write down that is for dinner. Ask your kids what they want, Ask you spouse what they want, Make something you especially want. - and Look! You're done!!
I am still what I consider a newbie to this Menu Planning stuff. I don't always get it done "on time" and lots of times it is on the backs for scrap pieces of paper; but I am realizing that if I am going to stay within my budget and feed my family the way that I want to feed them, then I have got to spend the time to do this. And I always remind myself, menu planning now is going to save me 1000 headaches during the week (at least) and I am all about saving my sanity when I can.
